Brandie O’Connor, Nathan Hart pick up Canberra's first medals at Glasgow Commonwealth Games

James Buckley

Cycling pair Brandie O’Connor and Nathan Hart provided Canberra’s first success of the Commonwealth Games picking up bronze medals on day one, with Hart speeding his way into the record books in the process.

Just moments later Hart led out Shane Perkins and Matthew Glaetzer in the Australian men’s sprint team in its bronze medal final against Canada before a dominant New Zealand romped to gold over England.

Hart's first lap in 17.381 seconds was the fastest ever by an Australian in team sprint history, highlighting why the 21-year-old is considered a talent of the future.

Only three months ago the Commonwealth Games was still a pipedream for Hart, but early on Friday morning he was standing on the podium.

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"I had all my family up in the stands, my mum and dad, auntie and brother were here to watch it was awesome," Hart said.

"It’s all happened pretty quick, it’s a lot to take in.

"I’m just super happy to put together a couple of really quality rides and help the team get a bronze medal."

The former Melrose High and Erindale College student is reaping the rewards of a move to Adelaide earlier this year to train with Cycling Australia’s high-performance unit.

It gave him the platform to launch his Games bid, and put an end to the weekly trips to Sydney to train on an indoor velodrome.

The move also instantly surrounded him with some of the world’s best track cyclists, including Anna Meares who kicked off her Games in style claiming gold in the women’s 500m time trial a day after leading Australia in the opening ceremony.

Hart is daring to dream about the Rio Olympics in 2016 now, although he plans to enjoy this bronze medal before getting too far ahead of himself.

"This is my first big international competition and I’m really happy with the way I’ve handled myself and the times I’ve out down," Hart said.

"It’s definitely a really good start."

"There’s a lot of work to do, things to work on, just getting back into some solid training, after soaking this up obviously."